"Great. Let's meet at Cafe Bavana in the City Center in half an hour from now. It's close to your office, and I won't take much of your time, I promise."
"Ok, sure. See you."
I wondered what important matter she wanted to discuss with Jake. She sounded a bit off on the phone. I guess I will know soon.
I went back to my cabin and left Jake a message that I will meet Erica for lunch. I called Brett to meet me with the car and driver outside the office ten minutes from now.
I took my purse and headed straight out. The traffic was smooth. Within twenty minutes, I reached the decided destination.
I walked inside the mall to the cafe Erica mentioned. As always, Brett followed me like a shadow.
When I reached the cafe, Erica was already seated inside.
"Hey, Erica."
"Hi, Emma. Thanks for coming on such short notice. Please have a seat."
"No problem. What happened? You look worried, is everything alright?" I sat across the table, placing my bag on the seat beside me.
"No. Everything is a mess. My dad has been out of town for business for two days now, and I have been kind of alone at home." She paused for a bit and took a deep breath before she continued, "I was feeling scared. I felt I was being followed, as if someone was keeping an eye on me."
"Really? This sounds serious Erica. What are you planning to do about it?" I got worried because I was familiar with this feeling, and it was genuinely not a good position to be in.
"I don't know. I have a lot of security, and dad assured me that everything is under control. I just still feel uncomfortable." She completed, and soon the waiter arrived to take our orders.
We both placed our respective orders, and as soon as he left, Erica continued, "I am sorry Emma, I called you because I didn't have anybody else to talk to. Jake was busy and..."
"Hey, it's fine. I am glad I can help you in any manner. In my opinion, you can always go to the cops. I mean, they are here to help us. Even after Jake's apartment accident, he got the FBI involved."
"Yes, you are right. I have been thinking about the same. I may go to the cops. I am sick of living in constant fear."
"Yes. Nobody deserves to live in fear. Work it out, talk about it to the right people. You can come over and spend some time with us if that makes it any better."
"Thanks, Emma. I do feel better. I will think about it." She gave me a soft smile, which I reciprocated. She had no friends or anyone close to depending on. She was just very alone.
We both ate our food and chatted a bit about general things. It was almost three in the afternoon and I wanted to rush back.
"So… you can call me whenever you feel like talking or in case you need any help. I will let Jake know of this too and have him call you back." I said warmly as we both walked out of the cafe.
"Thanks, Emma. I appreciate it."
"No worries at all. Alright then. I will be leaving for office now, where are you headed?"
"I will be heading home now. My car is parked in the basement. Do you want to walk down together?"4
"Sure. I will ask Brett to get my car outside the exit gate of the parking lot."
We both walked down as I informed Brett. As soon as we reached her car, I heard a loud crash. There were screeching tires, and a black sedan stopped right next to us. Four masked guys got out of them and came straight to attack us. There was sudden chaos as I saw some of Erica's bodyguards running towards us.2
"Emma!!" I heard Erica scream as she pushed me from behind, making me fall on my face. The guy who was attacking me turned to her and smacked her face with a heavy rod. I saw her fall flat next to me, lying in her pool of blood.
I was shocked. I couldn't breathe. I was numb, unable to move or speak. I saw more masked men attacking and tackling the bodyguards. There were gunshots and a lot of blood. I was struggling to get up as I finally saw Brett sprinting towards my direction.
I tried to run in his direction with all my strength. "Brett!! Help!"
But before I could do anything, I felt two very strong arms grab me and drag me with them, while another hand covered my mouth with a cloth. It was all blur after that as I heard gunshots and saw Brett falling down. He was shot.
I was dragged in the car, and one of the other masked men picked Erica's unconscious body covered in blood and threw her in the car as well.
That was the last thing I felt before everything went blank; my head was spinning, my eyelids were heavy, and slowly, darkness took over.
Chapter 38
Her betrayal
Jake
"Did we get a court date for this Thursday?"
"Yes, Sir, we did." Mr. Daniel, my lawyer, responded with a broad smile on his face.
"That's great news. Let's cover the remaining threads. I don't want any mistakes. David Windson and his damn company should become history after Thursday." I reiterated and emphasized every word to my team of lawyers. I could not afford to lose the only chance I had against him.
This was my first strike to make him commit to his crimes, especially his involvement in my father's murder. I was sure
